Project X Zone
by PopfullaWriter
Summary: [COMM] Right after the war with the Eggman Empire was won, another catastrophe strikes as Sonic confronts a strange and leathal "were-fix" woman...


"Project X Zone"

Written by: Toni the Mink

Commissioned by: Royal_Serene

* * *

Ever since the War to Take Back Mobius, things have been slowly getting back to normal. After his smashing defeat, Emporer Eggman, or Dr. Eggman as he was now referred to once more, had gone into hiding. Not a peep had been heard from him since.

Peace was settling back in the world, and the bad memories were but distant ones now. Cities, towns, and kingdoms had once again regained their rightful control. People were getting back to their old lives. Some were even starting.

For Sonic, that would be a bit of both.

He loved being able to hang out with his friends once again, while also touring the world on a simple whim. He had the speed. He could circle around a few times if his health allowed him.

That was it though. Ever since he woke from his coma, he noticed his health had practically gone back to zero. While he was making quick progress, he had a long way to go before he could even reach his top speed again. Not to mention he found himself tiring out quickly.

Months in a coma will do that to you…

At least if he couldn't run around as much, he could still hang out and chill with his buddies…

Including Opal.

That was another new instance for him. Opal was Knuckles' second-in-command during the war against Emperor Eggman. She helped free Sonic from the Death Egg Prison, and assisted him in multiple prisons. She was even by his side when he and Classic Sonic battled Infinite and Eggman, which won the war once and for all.

And to think she started out as a shy, anxiety-ridden mess…

But she came a long way in a short amount of time.

Sonic would never admit this to anyone, not even his BFF Tails, but he strongly admired Opal for this. While the world looked to him as the hero, he secretly looked to her as his…

The two were seen hanging out a lot, after the war shenanigans. Some speculated the strange but brave new rookie would take off in search of a new purpose and a new fight, like any other stereotype… Not Opal, though. She stayed put, and Sonic very much enjoyed her company.

It was just another post-war evening, and Sonic and Opal were hanging out together at a small little restaurant. They sat outside on the patio, watching the sun set. Flora, Opal's Service Chao, sat in the middle of the table, humming peacefully at the sight. Opal was content at the moment as she nibbled on her fries. Sonic was very much enjoying the chili dog he had ordered.

The tuxedo-cat took a deep breath. "So, Sonic…"

The hedgehog swallowed his bite. "Hm?"

"I was just thinking… And, well, no better time than now, I suppose."

"About what?" Sonic asked before taking a sip of soda.

"Well…" She looked over at the blue hedgehog with a smile, "I just can't get over how happy I am that you're awake and in good health."

Sonic smiled, but sighed. "Well, not _completely_," he muttered, "I can't reach Mach 1 like I used to… I'd be lucky to hit 500 miles an hour without getting winded."

"You're here with us, and that's all that matters," said Opal.

"I know," Sonic lowered his head, "I'm glad to be alive… but it kinda sucks not being able to be up my usual par."

"Just keep training and going to physical therapy, and you'll get there," Opal smiled.

Sonic flashed her his usual cool grin. "Thanks," he said, "Look at you reassuring someone. Nice to be on the giving side, huh?"

Opal turned her head down, trying to hide a little blush. "Well… I'm getting better every day. Just like you."

"Isn't that what being partners is all about?" Sonic smiled and held out his hand, "We're even stevens, right?"

Opal smiled warmly and took his hand, holding on for a long while, just enjoying the moment as long as she could.

Finally, she felt she needed to break the silence. "Sonic… I-"

She was cut off by a familiar noise. It was hard to describe, but definitely familiar, and went with whenever Infinite was around, and reality was shifting…

Sonic leapt to his feet. "No way..!" he cried, "That noise… It can't be!"

Opal jumped up to his side. "I thought it disappeared when we destroyed Eggman's robot once and for all!" she cried. Sensing her worry, Flora flew up and curled into her arms.

Sonic tightened his fist. "If it ended up disappearing into another _dimension,_ then that could only mean…"

At that, the sky began to distort. The sun rippled as the clouds circled like a portal opening up. Opal hugged Flora tightly in fear as Sonic braced for the inevitable. The crowd around them cried out in fear, some running away.

In the middle of the strange event, a figure appeared to have materialized. It floated slowly downwards, until it touched the street. The strange distortment above finally began to ease up, and things went back to normal.

Except for the strange, human/fox like creature with huge breasts hanging out standing in the middle of the street. She boredly glanced from one side to another. "Hm.." she huffed, "This place looks new. A bit dull, but hey, I like fresh meat. And I'm sure Ouma wouldn't mind marking this territory on their map to control."

"'Scuse me, lady," Sonic shouted over, "But what exactly do you mean 'fresh meat' and 'take control'?"

The were-fox narrowed her eyes at the hedgehog. "Well, I certainly don't want to give out spoilers when I'm just arriving now," she replied, "Don't worry, little porcupine. You'll know what's going on soon enough."

One of Sonic's nerves got struck. "_Little porcupine?!" _he yelled, "I'm a _hedgehog!_ And that's SONIC the Hedgehog to you, toots!"

The werefox cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"

The hedgehog's eye started twitching. "You mean you've never even heard of me? What the hell?!"

The creature then smirked and shrugged innocently. "Guess you're not all THAT famous if I've never heard of you, especially from across the galaxy."

"Galaxy..?" Opal wondered out loud.

Sonic was too busy trying to fix his ego to notice the strange line. "Well, whoever you are, we just got out of a big war to free our world form a tyrant, lady!" he called over, "So we're not in the mood for another take over if that's what you're planning?"

"Oh, I guess I should just pack up my things and look for another world to erect chaos on."

"Damn straight, toots! We've got enough chaos here!"

The werefox started laughing obnoxiously. "Oh, you little fool!" she squealed, "If only it were that simple!" She then gave Sonic a sneering smile. "But I'm afraid now that I'm here, I'm going to have to bring more chaos into your world. A type of chaos you've never imagine, no matter what you've experienced in the past…"

"Say no more!" Sonic shouted as he revved his feet, "That's enough for me to knock you into next week!"

"Sonic!" Opal cried, "You're not at full capacity! You'll get hurt!"

"One good spin oughta take her out!" Sonic chimed as he dashed towards the strange woman.

However, what he failed to notice was that the fox-like woman had three swords strapped to her belt, which she unsheathed one from and slammed it into the blue spinning hedgehog, batting him hard away. He skidded on the ground harshly. Opal raced to his side quickly to check on him.

"Hmm…" the woman took note, slightly amused, "That would've really caused some damage to any unshielded idiot. You've got some tough hide."

"Clearly you're impressed, since this is your first fight against me," Sonic replied smugly as he got back to his feet, "When fast enough, my spines can cut through solid steel!"

The woman was barely impressed. "Solid steel? Is that it?"

Sonic got a bit annoyed at that remark. "Yeah, and so much more. Brace yourself, toots!"

"Sonic, stop!" Opal pleaded, but it went on deaf ears as Sonic dashed at the woman once more. The woman held up an arm, preparing herself, but was momentarily caught off caught as at the last possible second, Sonic took to the air and stuck his leg out, ready to land a kick.

_SNAG!_

Sonic was shocked when the woman grabbed his ankle with ease before he could strike.

She reared back and threw the hedgehog into the sky. "_Shunka Shuto!" _she shouted as she threw a red energy ball at him, striking head on. She then followed up with a shot of her gun, going through his chest. As he fell, she continued the onslaught with a strike of her sword before elegantly twirling on her toes and slamming her leg HARD into the side of his body. Sonic was slammed into the ground smoking, bleeding, and very much unconscious.

"_Soniiic!"_ Opal screamed, running to his side once more. His injuries looked pretty bad.

"Tch!" the woman grabbed the cat's attention. She was shaking her head in an unimpressive manner. "Is that the best you've got?" she scoffed, "This'll be too easy of a job… Ah well," she shrugged, "Better than nothing." She glared over at Opal with a sinister smirk, "I'd gather the toughest warriors you could think of if you want to save this pathetic world of yours. 'Cause once I'm done, it'll be another property owned by Ouma."

"What..?" Opal murmured, "What's going on? Who are you?"

"Wait until the midpoint, sweetie," the werefox grinned as she suddenly disappeared.

"Wait!" Opal cried, but the woman appeared long gone. She turned her attention back down to Sonic, seeing just how bad his injuries were. She fell back to her knees. "No… No!" she cried, "Not again! Please, not again! HELP! Someone call an ambulance! Hurry!"

Opal's pleas for help were met quickly, as police was already called to try and handle the stranger in the middle of the street. Sonic was brought back to the hospital and treated in the Emergency Room.

Opal had gotten in touch with Tails and Amy, and they rushed over. Fortunately, the doctors were able to save Sonic, and he recovered fairly well. He may had recently come out of a coma, but his persistence was as strong as ever. It wasn't long before they were allowed to go in and see him.

"Soniiic!" Amy cried, wrapping her arms around him tightly, "How could you go getting yourself hurt so quickly after last time?"

"Ow! Careful, Amy…" Sonic moaned, "It wasn't my fault… This crazy woman popped in out of nowhere, and started threatening to take over the world. What was I supposed to do? Cower in fear?"

"You didn't have to be so reckless," Opal muttered, holding Flora closely. She really needed to be relieved of her mounting anxiety.

"If any good came from all this," Tails spoke up, "We at least know what we're dealing with. Opal gave us most of the details while you were being worked on, Sonic… You guys say something happened that was similar to the effects of the Phantom Ruby?"

Sonic nodded. "That teleportation noise was way too familiar," he replied, "Not to mention the whole sky going wonky."

"Could this… foxy lady, had gotten ahold of the Phantom Ruby when it disappeared totally?" Amy asked.

Tails knitted his eyes and glared downwards. "Could be…"

"Of all the things to get a hold of the Phantom Ruby," Opal muttered, "Why did it have to be someone who could wipe the floor with Sonic?"

The hedgehog frowned, "Jeez, Opal, you didn't have to remind me like that…"

"It WAS rather foolish of you to jump her half-heartedly…"

Everyone turned to the doorway at the mysterious, new voice. A tall, well-built female human with blue oriental clothing walked in. With her features, she almost looked as if she hailed from Chun-Nan, though looking closer, she looked rather… other-wordly.

Sonic stared the stranger down. "And you are…?"

The woman pulled out her wallet and flashed a badge. "The name is Chun-Li," she replied, "Interpol agent."

"Interpol..?" Amy raised an eyebrow, "Never heard of that place."

"It's not a place, it's a crime organization," Chun-Li replied, narrowing her eyes, "We got leads that the infamous Ouma agent Saya was seen traveling to this part of the galaxy."

"Galaxy?" Tails asked, "So… you're NOT from Chun-Nan?"

Chun-Li raised an eyebrow. "No..?"

"C'mon, Tails," said Sonic, "She said galaxy. She's clearly from another planet. She may look Chun-Nan, but's she's an alien."

"I prefer 'visitor'," Chun-Li replied, "You don't happen to know this 'were-fox's whereabouts, would you?"

Opal shook her head. "She used the Phanton Ruby to escape," she replied, "But she said something about taking this world over for Ouma…"

Chun-Li closed her eyes and grit her teeth. "So they're at it again," she growled, "I'll have to call in for back up, but for now, call in your strongest warriors who can defend this world."

"I'll join you as soon as I'm out of this bed!" Sonic volunteered.

Chun-Li stared at him for a moment, as realization slowly sank in. She gave a heavy sigh. "Hoo boy… this planet is doomed."

"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means you're going to need all the help you can get, especially when it comes to Saya," said Chun-Li, "You've seen first-hand how powerful she is, so you of all people should understand. And since you know so much about this world, AND this 'Phantom Ruby'…" The woman thrust her fist in the air with a smile, "I'm sticking by your side until the end."


End file.
